No early start required, phew ! One of the nice things about Dosthill is that you can get there late and still not miss out on the fun. It was a drizzly start but the rain backed off around 9:00am and left us alone for the rest of the day, so then the smiles really started to come out too.

Most of us had assembled by around 8:30am around the big S+O van, like a swarm of hungry bees around a pot of honey. The brief was expertly delivered by Glen and the rest of the days team, whilst the 20 or so “Doing It’ers …” scoffed their hot tea and bacon rolls.

There is not much in the way of facilities but everyone is very friendly, and I think John must have had jaw ache by the end of the day, because whenever you saw him he was chatting to someone different. As you change in the car park at Dosthill, and as it is made up of gravel, it suddenly became apparent why the guys in the store always recommend getting a drysuit matt bag with your drysuit.

The mix of divers was plentiful, with all levels of qualification there, and there was almost half of the training team on hand to help out any of the newcomers, with their own brand of help and advice. Those divers without buddies were soon buddied up, so if you’re thinking of coming along next time don’t be shy in attending on your own. Those diving the site for the first time were paired up with divers more experienced in Dosthill, and a few pairs even requested one of the team to actually dive with them. The brief was, well  brief, the main points being about the dive conditions and the dive rules. Dive within your qualification and experience, plan your dive, always let the surface cover know what’s going on and above all “have fun”.

It can’t all go smoothly so of course one or two had forgot to pick up their hired gear from the shop, so of course they suffered just a little (well maybe a bit more than a little) teasing. Happily between what is carried by the staff what is carried on the van everyone was properly equipped so no one missed out. The lesson of course being, always remember if you have hired equipment pick it up from the shop.

The bottom is almost entirely made up of silt so it’s always best to stay off it, as more than a couple of us discovered, woops. With the aid of the underwater platforms, on to which you can descend, get yourself orientated and your buoyancy sorted, everyone got off to a great start on both dives. Although the viz was not the best, there was plenty to see. Oh and if there was ever a good reason to complete your Navigation Speciality this is it, the challenge then is finding your way from one sight to another. We even managed to discover some things that are not even on the site map, next time you’re in there see if you can find the old Ford Granada …

The life in Dosthill was more plentiful than we would have imagined, towards the edges and in the shallower water we found perch and in amongst the reeds at the far end you could, if you were quiet enough, find some very young pike.

Those who wanted it got in their two dives, in a leisurely fashion of course, after all it was a Sunday. The final dive was completed at about 1.30pm and then it was a quick pack up and across the road to The Fox, for a well deserved pint and a “did you see the size of that pike” type chat.